Dante Early Printed : Dantis Aligerii poetae florentini Inferni capitulum primum incipit

Dante Alighieri, 1265-1321

Dante Early Printed

<p style='text-align: justify;'>One of three editions of the Commedia printed in 1472, this book was produced in Mantua by Georgius de Augusta and Paulus de Butzbach for Columbinus Veronensis, the humanist scholar who also edited the text. Unlike the other editions printed in this same year, this Commedia is not dated to the day or month. The text is printed in two columns and contains a dedicatory poem in terza rima by Colombino Veronese addressed to Filippo Nuvoloni <a dir='auto' href='' onclick='store.loadPage(7);return false;'>[a]1r - [a]1v</a>. This poem includes a summary of the three cantiche that focuses particularly on Inferno <a dir='auto' href='' onclick='store.loadPage(8);return false;'>[a]1v</a>. The text layout is consistent throughout the book. The canti are announced with short titles containing the name of cantica and the number of the ‘capitolo’ (or canto) and have blank spaces with occasional guide letters to indicate the inclusion of more elaborate initial capitals (probably intended for hand illumination). The cantiche begin on the recto of new pages (leaving a blank page after the end of Inferno at <a dir='auto' href='' onclick='store.loadPage(68);return false;'>[d]4v</a>). The cantiche are introduced by slightly longer rubrics in capital letters, announcing the name of the poet (‘DANTIS ALIGERII POETAE FLORENTINI’) as well as the cantica and canto number. The edition concludes with the date and a Latin colophon giving publication details. The text of the poem is an innovative combination of sources presenting an ‘embrionale edizione critica’ (see Dante Poeta e Italiano «legato con amore in un volume». Manoscritti e antiche stampe della raccolta di Livio Ambrogio, Catalogue number 20, page 33). </p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The Rylands copy has rich hand-illumination with gold detailing on the opening page of each cantica, probably made several centuries after its print publication. The first page of the Inferno presents a profile portrait of Dante at the head of the verso column and a vignette of a scene from Inferno I at the foot of the page <a dir='auto' href='' onclick='store.loadPage(9);return false;'></a>[a]2r; for Purgatorio and Paradiso, the page includes only one vignette, at the top of the first column after the title rubric. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The Rylands copy formed part of a bequest to the Nikolaikloster in Vienna by Johannes Faber, Bishop of Vienna, recorded in a manuscript inscription, heavily washed-out, on <a dir='auto' href='' onclick='store.loadPage(188);return false;'>[l]6v</a>, and dated 10 January 1540. The book then entered the Spencer collection and was part of the Spencer Library at Althorp, Northamptonshire, which was largely assembled by George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (d. 1834). The book was bought by Enriqueta Rylands for the library in 1892. </p>